In today's business environment, the email has become, more and more, the accepted means of communicating with customers--internal and external--and with other businesses. Here are a few guidelines to follow when writing business emails.

1. The Subject: Make it specific and meaningful for the reader. The Soft SkillsTraining Class could have more impact than just Training here. It may also invoke interest to the point that the email is immediately opened and read.

2. The Salutation should steer clear of words such as: Hello, Hi, Hey. Use instead Dear followed by the recipient's name--Mr. John or Ms. Smith--and a colon after the name. For example: Dear Ms. Smith: Admittedly, there are other options here, which will be addressed in a subsequent article.

3. Your reason for writing is always best stated in your opening sentence--one simple sentence that leaves nothing to the imagination. Continue from there, keeping your entire email to no more that two or three short paragraphs.

4. Avoid unnecessary CAPITALIZATION of complete words. This indicates shouting--something you do not want to be guilty of. Neither should you resort to all lower-case letters. Use normal methods of punctuation in writing.

5. Text abbreviations and emoticons will be resisted, since they do not fit into formal business writing. Therefore, write please instead of plz, thanks instead of tks, you and not u.

6. Recipients of your email may prefer privacy, especially if they are many. In any case, the BCC feature or mail merge is preferred to long open lists of recipients of your business emails.

7. Use a signature block at the end of your email that includes your own contact information: Full name, business address, phone number and perhaps a website.

8. Proofreading and editing your email very carefully at this point are absolutely necessary in order to maintain that element of business efficiency.

What's more, your company will applaud you for taking the time to make your email both business-like and communication-effective.

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Janet Carmichael has lectured, taught and trained in classrooms in the United Kingdom, the Caribbean and the United States. An experienced trainer in Customer Service and Business Communication, she designs and delivers effective training programs and solutions based on the findings of her needs assessment exercises. She received a BA in English, earned within both British and American disciplines, and holds certificates in Distance Education and ISO9000 Internal Auditing. She currently lives in Covington, Georgia.